Alarm for elevator grain bins



y A. 0. MILLER ALARM FOR 4ELEVATOR GRAIN BINS.

APPLl'cATloN FxLED ocr. 6

Patented 00L. 17,1922.

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2 SHEETS mm ww. NM ma NT m /5 firm/mfr.

A. 0. MILLER.

ALARM OR ELEVATOR GRAIN BINS.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. e, 1920.

jl, ,43%078, Patented Oct. L7, i922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented l?, i922@ ALBERT O. MILLER, OF PORTER, MINNESOTA.

ALARM FOR ELEVATOR GRAIN BINS.

Application filed 0ctobe16, 1920.

To all fui/iam, t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT O. MILLER, a citizen or' the United States, residing at Porter, inthe county of Yellow Medicine and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Alarms i'or Elevator Grain Bins; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description or' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates Lto alarms for elevator grain bins. 1n filling the bins of elevators, it is important and desirable to have some means of indicating when the grain has sufficiently accumulated therein, and thus prevent the overflowing and wasting orn grain, and also preventing the grain from entering compartments not designed for such purpose.

It is an object of this invention to provide a grain alarm consisting of few and simple parts, and one of efficient operation. 1t is a further object of the invention to provide an alarm of such construction that it can be easily and quickly adjusted by an unskilled workman. rlhese, and other objects or the invention, will be apparent as the description proceeds, in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughvout the dierent views, and in which,

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of an elevator showing the bins therein and applicants novel alarm applied thereto; and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of applicants alarm device.

Fig. 1 shows a section of an ordinary grain. elevator comprising a wall l, top 2, and the usual superstructure 3, which carries the conveying machinery. VVithiu the elevator are shown bins 4 -which are iilled through openings 5 and which have the usual discharge devices 6 at their lower ends. Applied to one of the bins shown in Fig. 1, is applicants novel alarm device. It will, of course, be understood that one of these devices will be provided for each bin and as many binsmay be used as desired.

The alarm device proper consists of a supporting member 7 designed to be located in an opening 8 in the wall of a bin. This supporting member is shown as carried by a bracket or lug 9 on the interior wall of Serial No. 415,193.

is rigidly secured to one side of the member i 12 and carries a rbearing pin 14, upon which is journaled for rotation, a sheave 15. This sheave is so disposed that a cord or rope passing thereover can pass vertically downward through the slot 12 outside of the bin. Secured upon and at one end of member 10, and extending into the bin is a slotted bracket lhaving a slot 17 therein. Bearing pin 18 is secured in the member 16 and passes through said slot to form a pivot for an arm 19 which supports a bin board or grain board 20. rThe arm 19 and bin board 20 project downwardly into the bin, and a rope or leXible member 21 is secured to the underside of arm 19 as at 22 and passes from the same, over sheave 15 and down along the outside wall of bin 4. rope may be led over one or more guiding sheaves 23, as shown in Fig. 1. At its lower end, adjacent the underside of the bin, this rope passes through a vertical hole in a bell crank arm 24, and below said arm is provided with an enlarged. portion, such as a knot, shown as 25 in Fig. 1, or a block or knob, such as shown at 26 in Fig. 2. Supported. upon the bin structure, or other suitable means, is a bracket 27, to which is secured a pivot pin 28. rThe bell crank 24 is mounted upon the pivot pin 28 and adapted to oscillate thereon in a substantially vertical plane. The' bell crank 24 comprises a. substantially horizontal arm 29 and a shorter arm 30. The flexible member 21 passes 'through the arm 29, and at the end of the arm, an extension 30 is formed, upon which is slidably mounted a weightA 31, which may be liXed in various `positions on the extension and fastenedthereon by set screws 32. Pivoted to the end of the arm 30 is a depending pawl member 33. The member 33 has an elongated slot 34 near the center thereof, by means of which it is guided by a pin 35, and upon which pin it is adapted to slide. The lower end of member 33 is formed as a pawl tooth and is arranged to contact with al notch 36 formed near one end of an arm 37, which is pivoted to a bracket 38 rigidly secured to the bin structure, or otheriixed support. The arm t necessary, this llt@ 37 is normally disposed in substantially horizontal position, and arod 39, passesl The parts of the alarmnormally occupy relation shown in Fig. 2 with the bin board 2()` projecting.v into the bin, substantially in the position shown in Fig. 1. rIlhe grain, is

conveyedl :into` they bin through the opening 5 and accumulatesl therein in a heap, as shown at; 43 inv Fig. l.

mounts still higher,` theboard issucc'essively raised tohigher position, as indicatedr in dotted lines in F ig. l. Owing-'to the disposi-- tion ofy pivot' 18, the elevation oi? board 2O pulls on` the flexible member'2l andthe enlarged portion 25 at the end ofv the` ie'xvible member eventuallylifts arm 29 ofthe-bell crank member 24. This, in tur-n, lifts member and the tooth at theend thereof, is

disengaged from the pivoted arm 37;

ing tothe weight' '31; this-arm then falls andallow-s theV rodi 391 to descend; Thisgrod is arrangedl so that when it descend's, itncau'sesl the. alarm-tosound, either-by connecting an` open electrical circuit, or by releasing a: spring, or otherl alarm device. Uponhear-l ing the alarm, thel attendant will' know that y the bin hasbeen iill'edi'tol a` suiii'cient amount,

and willthen switch the conveying'machiiry ery to dischargeinto an empty bin,

In will be understood that one alarniwill suflice for any number of bins, each! alarmdevice being arranged in operabley relation thereto by any suitable connection; Attentionis alsocalled tothe fact that the par-ts are shown somewhat diagrammatically, i'n Fig. l, and reference will'1A be had to Fig. 2, for the speciicstructure ofthev device.

It: may also be statedf that to stop the alarm, the attendant can simply pull down on member 211. Thisfwillsi'nk the board 2Ol into the grain sutlicient'ly to giveroom to depress member 29 and again setpawl 36 by .the matter described, shown! intliey accom- When the grain reaches the position of the board 20,i and panying drawings and set forth in the claims.

What Iclaim is:

l. In an alarm device for elevator grain bins, anr alarm actuating means therefor, a trip device for controlling said means consisting of a pivoted arm, a pawl, and a bell crank lever, an adjustable weight on said bell crank. lever and. a. flexible member for operating the bell crank lever to actuate the tripI device and permitthe alarm actuating member to soundE the alarm.

2. In an alarm device 'for elevator grain bins, the combinationof analarm, an actuating rod forsaid alarm, an adjustable weight thereon, a pivot'edf armi through which said rod passes having therein a ratchet notch, a pawl engaging said notch and a bell crank lever adapted to be raised to withdraw the pawl from the' notch andvallow thel alarmfto bey actuated.

3. In an alarm for elevator grain bins, a pivoted' bin board adapted to be raised by accumulating grain, av llexible member attachedthereto, a sheave adjacent thetop of said binv overwhich said flexiblemember passes, an alarm device adjacent the bottom ofthe bin, a tripA devicecomprising a weighted bell crank lever, and an alarm actuating member connected' to the alarm device for operating the same, and actuated bythe bell crank lever, said flexible member extending down to and being connected to said trip device whereby whensaid board is raised the-alarm willbe operated. f

el'. An alarm device for elevator grain binshaving in combination a pivoted bin board adapted to be raised by accumulating grain, a flexible member connected'thereto, a weightedbell crank lever disposedadjacent the bottom of the bin, a lever connected thereto and adapted to detachably Yengage an alarm operating member, said cable being attached to said bell= crank lever, whereby when the bin boardis raised, the belll crank lever will be turned to cause the lever connecd thereto toV release thealarm actuating member. Y

In'testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence oly two witnesses.

l ALBERT O; MILLER. VVitn'esses t PLO; SHENNUM, EDINOMEIAND; 

